I used to agonize over these work lunch buffets with clients. However, as my maintence milestone year #2 is only 10 days away I've found through trial & error I've learned a few things that have gotten me through it:

* Plan a workout in the morning & eat a hearty breakfast (I usually have oatmeal with fruit & skim milk). I also plan to have a snack mid-morning (i.e. apple & string cheese) so I'm not starving by lunch.

* I can usually go on-line (if not call) to find out what's being served & what
I'll probably choose to plate. Even if the nutritional values are not listed I
can pretty much make my own estimate especially when I know how the foods are prepared.

* Once I get there instead of grabbing my plate & getting in line like everyone else, I walk by the buffet table first & take a good look at what's being served. This gives me a chance to relax & it reminds me that buffets are usually about quantity of food & not quality, so I better make sure I choose wisely.

* I plate 1/4 lean protein (chicken or fish), 1/4 starch, & 1/2 veggies (if salad bar, minus fatty dressings & toppings).

* I never go back for seconds because I'm usually satisfied with what I have & I always feel uncomfortably stuffed when I go back for more (even if I still make healthy choices.) To keep my mind off wanting to go back, I eat very slowly by placing my fork down between bites, focus on the conversations, & take sips of water.

* Unless dessert is something I really want I usually don't waste my calories on it & opt for coffee or tea (like I said, buffet food is not about quality).

* Now comes the hard part - ignoring remarks made by both your co-workers & clients who are quite frankly uncomfortable with your food choices & want you to go back to the "dark side": "Is that all you're going to eat?" "Come on...you can afford to treat yourself once in a while....you're so skinny already" "Aren't you going back for seconds?" Blah blah blah I've found a combination of tactics usually work: pretending you didn't hear them, replying "No thank you I'm full" firmly over & over again until they get it, asking them a question (i.e. kids, work, hobbies) - this usually works as people just love to talk about themselves.

One of the best feelings is being satisfied that I didn't over indulge at yet another restaurant buffet meal despite being surrounded by food sabateurs. Then I notice everyone else is looking & feeling like beached whales.

Wow - you have been through this a few times! Thanks for sharing the tips on how to deal with this type of meal. It always surprises me that buffets don't have better food. I remember the caf at university had atrocious food choices during the school year, but a friend convinced me to go over during the summer. They had the most wonderful salad bar - not ready-made salads, but actual vegetables to make your own salad. I had salad bar every lunch that summer (I was working on campus).

If these are with clients, I would look at them as people events, not eating events. Is there anyway to avoid people you know question your food choices and sit with people you don't know and network and talk to them?

My coworkers shut up about what I eat the best when I just ignore them.

Now THIS is the TRUTH !!!
I agree with all of the tactics in your post,
but want to call attention to the usefullness of this particular one.

JessLess: actually, at the last work function with both coworkers & clients it was the clients that kept making those comments (my coworkers are used to my eating habits & don't normally say much anymore). However, I did happen to sit by a client who wanted to know more about how I ate because she's trying to get her husband to lower his cholesterol level. The other clients eventually got bored with our conversation & stopped making comments about my food choices.

I believe a turning point for me was an attitude adjustment - I used to focus on the negative (vast array of food/food sabateurs) instead now I focus on it being just another event & that I know I'm able to get through it because I know what I need to do - I just need to put it into practice.